The Walking Dead season 6 finale on April 3 delivered an interesting cliffhanger, and now we have six months to debate who Negan killed.
The show set up the final scene in a way that prevents us from knowing who Negan (beautifully brought to life by Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Lucille (stunningly portrayed by a baseball bat) beat to a bloody pulp. All we know is it was one of the characters who were kneeling before Negan and the Saviors: Glenn, Rosita, Daryl, Michonne, Abraham, Maggie, Rick, Sasha, Aaron, Carl, and Eugene (lined up from left to right in that order).
Since we didn’t get to see who won Negan’s eenie meenie mynie moe game, we decided to take a few stabs ourselves at who bit the bat:
Andrew’s guess: Rick
I know, I know. This seems highly unlikely since he’s the lead character, but there are a couple reasons why I actually think this is possible. The biggest reason: They left us on a freaking cliffhanger during one of the most highly-anticipated scenes in Walking Dead history. Whose death could possibly live up to the next six months of anticipation? There’s only one person: Rick.
Daryl, Maggie, Carl, Michonne, and Glenn would come next in terms of omg-huge-death-that-lives-up-to-six-months-of-waiting, but even these four don’t feel like major deaths given the enormity of the cliffhanger (Okay, maybe Daryl’s would be). If anyone but Rick dies, after all of this waiting, I will feel underwhelmed.
Also, consider this bit of evidence: Carl offered his thoughts on what to do about the Saviors earlier in the episode as his dad stood right next to him. To me, this scene came off as a passing-of-the-torch type of moment. As we’ve seen over the past year or two, Carl has become a responsible and tough soldier in the walker apocalypse.
Finally, let’s be real: Rick isn’t that necessary of a character anymore. Sure, he’s the clear leader of Alexandria, but between people like Michonne, Glenn, Daryl, Abraham, new-murderer Morgan, and (maybe… hopefully) Carol, the group would be in good hands in a Rick-less world. They could survive without him, which is why Rick could feasibly be killed off on The Walking Dead.
Sonya’s guess: Abraham Ford
Going into the episode I was most anxious that Glenn might be the one to be killed by Negan, since that’s what happened in the comics. However, I don’t think that’s what happened on The Walking Dead season 6 finale. For one thing, Negan notices that Abraham doesn’t back down when he points Lucille at him. If you want to make a point, but not take down a leader, wouldn’t you go for the strongest player? Secondly, Abraham’s placing in the lineup makes sense. When Negan mentions cutting out Carl’s eye and feeding it to his father if anyone moves, he motions to the left. Well, Abraham is on the right of both Carl and Rick.
After hitting the victim, Negan also says that they’re taking it like a champ. He says this in the comics to Glenn, but I’m not sure that at this point Glenn would actually be able to get back up after being hit. He’s already been with the survivors and looks like he’s in rough shape. Abraham has the strength to get back up, and also the attitude to try and defy Negan.
Another thing that’s bothering me is that all through the episode the Saviors kept telling Rick to be nice to the people in the RV because it might be their last day. That leads me to believe they killed one of the people traveling with Rick, instead of Michonne, Glenn, or Daryl who they already had.
Plus, Abraham was just starting to have things going good for him. He’d started the relationship with Sasha he’d been wanting. He was even talking about starting a family with her – on that very trip that lead to their capture. It’s always just when they start to feel safe that something awful happens.
On Talking Dead Robert Kirkman also confirmed that the character that was killed is a fan favorite. I would definitely count Abraham in that category with all of the humor he brings to the show!
Katie’s guess: Glenn
Glenn is probably the obvious prediction of who Negan killed, at least to those who have read the comics. They’ve been waiting for it for a long time, and it would seem the writers, not only know this, but have been using this knowledge to toy with the fans. How many near-deaths did Glenn have this season? Unless Glenn has horseshoes, clovers, and rabbit feet shoved in various orifices, there’s only so many times he can narrowly escape death before it finally comes for him.
Then there’s Maggie’s character arc to consider. Now that she’s finally pregnant, Glenn’s job is done (so to speak). Add that to the fact that this season Maggie was getting groomed for a leadership role, an independence different from what she’s had previously. If her fortitude and resolve is being built up, you can guess it’s because she’ll need that resilience in the future, to remain strong after something tragic happens. In other words, Glenn dies. She’s lost her father, her sister, and she’s going to lose her husband next. Without strengthening her character now, she’d be a huge mess after Glenn is gone.
Also keep in mind that Robert Kirkman said that the death will have a huge impact on the group and their morale. Rick and Glenn are the only two who could have a huge impact: Rick because he’s the leader of the group, and Glenn because he’s the heart of the group. And what does Chris Hardwick always (correctly) say? ‘Good hearted characters who bring hope to the show and group always get killed.’ Look at Beth, Denise, Tyreese, and Hershel, just to name a few.
If you’re a Glenn fan, you might want to take time this summer to start preparing his eulogy.
Brandi’s guess: Eugene…maybe?
I feel like this is choosing which of your cousins you’d rather die first, or which you love the most. Okay, maybe not quite like that but it kinda of feels that way to me. Abraham was one of my first choices but Sonya took that from me, good thing we aren’t placing any bets! But I could also back up my reasoning in choosing Eugene.
For starters, it seemed like he’d already said his goodbyes to Abraham and Rick. The latter seemed in awe of Eugene after being handed the recipe to make bullets and also grateful that he chose to risk his life for group. When Rick said, “We’re lucky you’re here,” Eugene responded with, “I won’t argue with that.” He’s come a long way, and even Rick’s noticed.
It was also kind of an emotional bromance goodbye with Abraham. Abraham gives Eugene some advice and all Eugene could ask is something that’s obviously been on his chest for a while. He asks why he was never allowed to drive the truck and Abraham tells him that he didn’t think he could. This entire season Eugene’s been telling everyone how much of a survivor he is. Maybe all Eugene needed was someone, namely Abraham, to acknowledge it before Eugene takes one for the team.
I don’t really see Eugene “taking it like a champ,” as Negan says, but you never know what kind of person you’ll be in your last moments. He may not be a “favorite” of many people, but realistically, who wouldn’t want someone who can literally make bullets on their team? We’ll miss that fabulous hair, that’s for sure.
Pamela’s guess: Maggie
While it would make sense for Negan to take out a strong player like Abraham or even Rick, I’d argue that the tactical move would be to take out a weak link like Maggie. Those of us who’ve stuck with the show through thick and thin know Maggie’s a strong character but in her current state, the Saviors have no way of knowing what she’s capable of. If Negan’s really looking for worker bees as he more or less said at the beginning of his speech, wouldn’t it make sense for him to take out someone who’s already down?
Additionally, the loss of Maggie would have a huge impact. Not only is she a fan favorite, but killing her off before she’s able to give birth to her baby would completely destroy everyone. It would make a mess out of Glen, which would most likely lead to an intense showdown between him and Negan somewhere down the line, and it would absolutely kill Rick and the rest of the group, who spent the majority of the season finale trying to help Maggie get the care she so desperately needed.
And for those of you who are thinking it couldn’t possibly have been one of the women that got the better end of Lucille in that final scene, I’ll leave you with this: remember, the writers did a great job of making sure they didn’t specify the gender of the person who got killed off. Instead, they made sure Negan said his first victim was “taking it like a champ.”
Now it’s your turn to guess!
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